The
Progeny of Democracy
By William Meader
From The Beacon April/May 2005

Democracy
is the fastest growing political system in the world today. When considering
the last few decades, the spread of democratic values has been astounding.
Throughout the world, people are rising to the note of freedom. Indeed,
the yearning to participate in community and governmental decisions has
reached an historical crescendo. The walls of totalitarian control are
crumbling everywhere, and this, due to the “urge to be free”
inherent in the human soul itself. The rise of democratic ideals is simply
a part of the unfolding realization of humanity’s higher purpose
and potential. When examining the long history of human evolution, democracy
was destined to emerge. The evolution of the human spirit demanded it
be so. Yet, from the ancient esoteric perspective, democracy is not the
ideal form of social governance, but only a necessary stepping stone toward
it. For in the distant future, the social system of meritocracy will supersede
our prized democratic way of life. Indeed, it is an inescapable form of
governance destined to be woven into the fabric of human living. The only
uncertainty is the question of time.

Meritocracy
is similar to democracy, but with an important addition. While it recognizes
the value of full participation within society, it also advocates the
importance of including meritorious hierarchy into the social and political
landscape. It is a system that states that society should be structured
around human ability rather than by wealth and aristocratic privilege.
Upon close examination it can be seen that money and wrongful use of power
has historically been the force that has defined the various hierarchies
found within democratic societies. For example, people who wield tremendous
financial resources are given undue leverage in shaping public policy
in support of their personal interests. This has led to class distinction
based upon wealth rather than on knowledge and character. A meritocracy
eliminates this flaw as it now demonstrates within the democracies of
today. In addition, it allows for an end to human distinctions based upon
religious orientation or racial heritage. In a meritocratic system, a
person’s ability (and willingness to apply it) is the cornerstone
that defines his/her influence. And, to insure that the best attributes
of an individual are brought forth, a meritocracy requires that all citizens
be given the same educational opportunities.

At
this point it should be noted that there are two philosophic orientations
upon which a meritocracy can be based. The first, and most commonly considered,
orientation uses intellect and personality competence as the primary measure
for determining one’s merit (and therefore social standing). This
is essentially an ego driven form of meritocracy. It suggests that those
who are most intelligent in their dealings have the right to stand with
greater authority within society. In some sense, this view of meritocracy
is rooted in the Darwinian model of evolution. It is to apply the motto
of the “survival of the fittest” to a social and political
context. This is meritocracy but not the form that esotericism advocates.

An
esoterically structured meritocracy utilizes spiritual values and wisdom
as the measure of merit, rather than intellect and personality ambition.
While it still supports the idea that social influence must be earned,
wisdom, and one’s commitment to the GOOD, are the cornerstones that
define an individual’s place and authority within society. At the
same time, a spiritually defined meritocracy acknowledges that at the
deepest level, all people are equal. Given this, such a society must demonstrate
a profound respect for the unique qualities of every citizen. Yet it also
recognizes that there are vast differences in people when it comes to
spiritual maturity and the development of consciousness. When looked at
in this way, it can be seen that human consciousness is hierarchical,
as is everything else in nature. In other words, within any society will
be found people who are at varying stages in the development of their
consciousness—understood within a multiple incarnational perspective.
As such, a meritocracy offers greater influence to those who have demonstrated
the broadest and wisest consciousness in support of humanity’s betterment

A
major tenet of this form of meritocracy is that a society is a living
system, and that all people within it need to find their rightful place
within its strata. Importantly, the correct place also defines that functional
contribution that a person can offer to society as a whole. In some sense,
place and function are identical. In such a society, the greatest likelihood
of happiness occurs when a person has found his/her rightful place within
the larger living system, and this, based upon his/her demonstrated wisdom.
Taken to its logical conclusion, when all people within a meritocratic
system find their place, such a society would be nearly flawless. Crime
would greatly diminish (if not completely cease), for crime is most often
due to a misalignment of person with place, as well inequalities related
to education and social opportunity. These inequalities and misplacements
would be largely remedied within a wisdom-defined meritocracy. Undoubtedly,
it is this that will eventually push humanity to meritocracy’s doorstep.

The
definition of a meritocracy states that elevated influence within a social
system is inversely related to personal interest. In other words, the
wiser one is the less attention she/he will pay to personal needs. The
needs of the whole become the preoccupation of life. As one rises in influence
within a spiritual meritocracy, he or she will demonstrate increasing
degrees of personal sacrifice, for the whole is seen as all that is. Spiritual
wisdom can only emerge when one is increasingly able to sense the fundamental
oneness underlying human society. This inner sight is found in various
degrees in the more enlightened of our human family. Unfortunately, it
is not sensed by the many intelligent (though selfish) personalities that
govern so much of the democratic processes today. Governance must be based
upon an authentic vision of human unity. It is the gradual opening of
the third eye (sometimes called the eye of vision) that makes such sight
possible. When this is the case, decisions will be guided by a united
vision, and will not be self-serving. This is foundational to the meritocracy
of the future.

In a spiritually-defined meritocracy, equal education becomes far more
central than it is today, for only in this way will the abilities of every
citizen by recognized and brought forth. Education will also shift in
such a way that all issues will be understood as relative and contextual.
Society will come to understand that polarized views represent an expression
of both truth and falsity, and can only be rightly understood within the
context of the larger whole. It is from this more balanced perspective
that wisdom will emerge, rather than the narrow and partisan perspectives
so strongly favored today. The day will come when people will no longer
say, “I have found the truth”, but instead will say “I
have found a truth.” In addition, religious differences will be
honored rather than feared. Because education supports diversity, respect
for differing religious views is heightened. As a meritocracy evolves,
it will become increasingly evident to its citizenry that religious differences
are largely a matter of birth and cultural upbringing, and that each religion
has something to contribute to the good of the whole. From this understanding,
the distinction between a meritocracy and theocracy becomes apparent.
A theocracy is a social order governed by one particular religion. Its
leaders are exponents of that religion and are relatively intolerant of
contrary spiritual or secular views. However, a spiritual meritocracy
is not religious. It holds the view that all avenues of human expression
have the potential of being spiritual (something quite different from
religious). In other words, spirituality is not exclusive to religion.
Education, government, science and the arts (to name just a few of humanity’s
modes of creative expression) are all products of human consciousness,
and are therefore spiritual.

In many ways, meritocracy will emerge as humanity gradually rises above
the problems inherent in democracy. One of the obvious difficulties found
in democratic systems is that everyone is given an equal vote even though
most are not properly educated on the issues for which they cast their
vote. In today’s democratic society, a well informed voter is a
rare thing indeed. And, because a democracy makes decisions based upon
the majority opinion, it is the uninformed masses that are steering society’s
course. This problem inherent in democracy has been acknowledged for centuries.
Many of the great minds in history have expressed concern over this democratic
shortcoming. Aristotle himself had grave reservations about democracy
for similar reasons. However, much of this would be solved in a meritocratic
system. Because equal education is its central function, a meritocracy
would far better educate its citizenry on the nature of the issues at
stake. All issues will be examined in a balanced way (because education
will have encouraged balanced thought). As a result, people will be far
less prone to decisions based upon partisan attitudes and thirty-second
sound bytes.

In many ways, it was a meritocracy that Plato advocated in his most famous
work, The Republic. He saw the dangers evident when people of power rise
to positions of authority without the needs of the whole governing their
motives. As a result, selfishly intelligent people make decisions that
are contrary to the good of the whole, though usually personally beneficial.
He believed that this is one of the greatest problems facing civilization
and democracy. Plato was therefore convinced that society should be structured
so that enlightened leadership will naturally emerge by drawing out the
best qualities evident in everyone’s nature. For Plato, the merits
that constitute enlightenment are not much different than what has been
already discussed in this writing. He believed that wisdom, and an inclusive
point of view, were essential. He felt that inclusive reason (a prerogative
of the soul) must rise above one’s passions. In addition, virtue
and impeccable character were qualities seen as indispensable. Interestingly,
he also felt that those at the highest levels of governance should be
without wealth or private property. Though this was to be legislatively
mandated, people of such lofty levels of consciousness would normally
find such renunciation to be quite natural—quite the opposite of
what we see in our Western democratic systems today. This was his solution
to the subtle corrupting influence that power has over people. It involved
a proven sacrificial element when serving society. And, from the esoteric
perspective, sacrifice (rightly understood) is one of the strongest indicators
that the soul is influencing a person’s life.

In this discussion, we have seen that a wisdom defined meritocracy holds
the promise of a much better and safer civilization. Over the last several
decades, democracy has been spreading throughout the world, indicating
that the desire for freedom and social participation is on the rise. This
is certainly a positive development, and will lay the foundation for the
emergence of meritocracy sometime in the future. As such, meritocracy
is the progeny of democracy. Democracy is replacing the tyranny and totalitarian
abuse that has controlled world affairs over the last several centuries.
The establishment of freedom and democratic ideals is an essential prerequisite
for a wisdom defined meritocracy to come forth. In truth, the seeds of
meritocracy are even now being planted within our society. Anti-discrimination
legislation, efforts to widen educational opportunities for more people
(who in the past had little chance of higher education), and the development
of effective aptitude assessments represent a few of the many seeds that
support the emergence of meritocracy. Admittedly, much still needs to
be done. Yes, we must always remember that understanding the evolution
of civilization requires a long view. It is only when we look at the changing
nature of culture and civilization over the course of many centuries that
we see its progress. And, it is this same longer view (cast into the future)
that is required in order to see the inevitability of a meritocratic world.
Such time will surely come, and each of us has the ability to till the
soil in support of this promising future.